Chapter 8

Vilgax stood smugly as Ben slowly circled around him, sword pointing dangerously at his armored chest. The prince was in complete concentration. Everything rested on his shoulders. Now was not the time to think of his destroyed, dead city. It was not the time to remember his parents. It was not the time to loot at the peasants and Gwen, who watched fearfully, blades to their throats. It was not the time to lose focus by casting a glance to Kevin, who had just thrown his life away for the Omnitrix as his father before him.

"Well?" Vilgax asked airily. "Are you not going to attack? I have not got all day, boy."

Ben's footwork stopped, but his upper body did not move. "I give you one last chance to return the Omnitrix, Vilgax."

"Ha! ha! ha!," Vilgax laughed, though it did not reach his eyes. His blade never faltered. "You shall have to come and take it."

The prince moved, quick as a striking snake. Vilgax blocked every jab and swing, hardly even trying. Ben's muscles strained under the weight of his sword and the force with which he fought. He could not lose. The sound of metal against metal echoed throughout the empty city, harsh in the ears of the prisoners.

Vilgax lazily flicked his blade up, and Ben hardly dodged it. He suffered a small cut to his cheek, which he ignored. Ben threw himself back at Vilgax. He was being reckless, allowing his emotions to fuel his strength. Gwen and the others watched him fearfully, dread weighing heavily in their hearts. Hope was fading fast.

Gwen's mind raced. There had to be some spell that she could use undetected. Ben needed help, even more apparent by the manner in which he was gasping for breath. If he did not surrender, Gwendolyn would fight to the death as well!

The soldiers on either side of her were submersed with watching the duel. Their grips had slackened considerably. Gwen moved her hand slowly to the dagger at her waist. Now was her chance to free herself, possibly distracting Vilgax and giving Ben a split second to win. Yes, it was cheating, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She was sure the prince would not begrudge her if it worked. If it didn't, well. She did not wish to think of the consequences.

As Ben stumbled back from blocking a hard blow, Gwen slipped the dagger from its sheath and swung to the right. Her wrist was caught easily, and an audible snap resounded as the knight broke it. With a sharp cry of pain, the lady dropped the dagger. The knight kicked it, sending it skittering across the cobblestones. Gwen did not see where it stopped, too blinded by the agony she was.

Unfortunately, her plan had backfired. Ben was the one who had been distracted, sparing a glance over his shoulder for his cousin. Vilgax took the split second to knock Ben to the ground, pressing the tip of his blade to the prince's chest. Ben glared up at him, mustering every once of hate in his being.

"Ha! ha! ha!" Vilgax boomed, prompting his army to laugh with him. "Valiant effort, Benjamin Tennyson. But not nearly close to good enough. Unfortunately for you, you were not even entertaining enough to warrant your survival."

"No!" Gwen cried as Vilgax raised his sword. He was going for the kill.

Ben braced himself as the blade swung down towards him, but was surprised when he heard the clash of metal on metal. He looked up. "Kevin?"

Kevin stood over him, yes, but he looked different. He was completely encased in what looked like silver armor, though it seemed just as much a part of him as his skin. His face was set as though he were in pain, which when Ben thought of it made sense, all things considered. Vilgax's sword had been stopped by Kevin's arm, and would go no farther.

"Ah, still alive?" Vilgax asked cheerily, stepping back. "That's some nice magic you've got."

Kevin didn't reply. In the hand he had used to save Ben was his sword, and he swung it hard. Vilgax fluidly moved his blade up to block, and Kevin stepped forward, locking eyes with the tyrant. His grim smirk caught Vilgax's attention, but before he could do anything, he felt a sharp sting in his chest.

Vilgax looked down to see the hilt of a dagger protruding from his heart. He lowered his sword, concern for himself flitting uncertainly across his face. Kevin stepped back, still staring hard at him.

"Well played," Vilgax said, meeting the young knight's gaze again. Then he crumpled to the ground, dead.

Kevin turned, and, ignoring the prince for the moment, addressed Vilgax's army, particularly the ones holding Gwen. "If you wish to live, run. Now."

Several took his advice, fleeing the city. Without their fearsome leader, it was all too easy to fail. But quite a few remained, confident in their own abilities and strength in number. Several hoped to replace Vilgax. By then Ben had gotten to his feet beside Kevin, panting hard. In his shaking hand was the Omnitrix.

The forever knights had them surrounded once again, and only Ben and Kevin were armed. The peasants huddled fearfully together in the center, though some tried to keep brave faces. Gwen was flipping through the pages of her retrieved spellbook with her good hand, desperately trying to find something that would help. She fervently wished she had studied it harder.

The first attacker moved, and Kevin moved to block him, as he was the closest. But the other knights took that moment to step in all at once. It was a melee, one that two exhausted swordsmen could not possibly hope to win. For a few minutes they struggled, but then were beaten back, closer to the little group in the center.

Kevin's magic armor had receded as he lost concentration, leaving him more vulnerable. The sun was lowering behind the city wall. Sunset was approaching fast, and they were losing again. Even with the Omnitrix's influence, the battle was certainly lost.

A ferocious war cry behind the throng of forever knights halted everyone. The knights directly in front of the scream turned in surprise, only to be struck down immediately. The figure pushed into the throe, swinging left and right. It was only then that they recognized the new arrival.

"Julie?" Ben breathed in relief.

To all's immense surprise, the cursed servant was an amazing warrior. No one had noticed Ship's disappearance at the beginning of the fight. Knights fell in her wake, and after the initial shock had worn off, Ben and Kevin fought with renewed vigor. The forever knights were forced back, falling underneath furious blades. Several, realizing that they might die, ran.

And in a matter of moments, the battle was over. The prince and his followers had won.

Page Break

The first order of business was to tend to everyone's wounds. No one had come away unscathed, but there was nothing too serious. Ben thanked his impromptu army for all their help and bravery, and they were returned to their respective villages.

"We'll need to track down that Michael," Ben said thoughtfully as Gwen dabbed at his bloody cheek with her good hand.

"No," Kevin said, dropping the helmet of the knight he had checked for signs of life. "The news of Vilgax's defeat will spread quickly. He and others will hear of his betrayal, and he will get what is coming to him."

Ben scowled and looked as though he would protest, but then bit his cheek and nodded. "We'll look for survivors here. Then we can try to give everyone a decent funeral."

Kevin and Gwen lowered their eyes. They had already seen several decaying corpses around them, but had chosen to ignore the sight as best they could for the time being. The aftermath was truly frightening, and it was times like these when they were reminded how young and unprepared they were.

"We shall get there one day," Gwendolyn said. "It will certainly take a while. The clean up, the rebuilding, and the repopulating, I mean."

The boys nodded in agreement.

Ben broke out in a grin. "Hey, does this mean I am the king now?"

Gwen chuckled. "I suppose it does."

Kevin groaned loudly, but they could hear the playful undertone. "Bellwood is doomed for eternity," he said, and they all laughed together.

The dark times were over.

A/N: The ending is horrible. Ugh. Ugh. GOLLUM. UGh. Sorry.

For the life of me, I could not bring myself to write out this last chapter. I had to force it, and so of course it's just a sucky ending with no real resolution or anything. I'm so sorry, you guys. ;-; Maybe someday I will be able to revisit this and fix these last few chapters, curing the story of this disgusting, lethargic plague. It's just that (and this is a horrible excuse) I get bored easily, and I haven't seen the show in forever, and I'm actually working on a novel at the moment, and school is getting really busy, and I met this girl I like, and I basically have no time or motivation.

In any case, I'm sorry to have disappointed you all, as you surely are with this unacceptable shit. But I could not leave it unfinished because I can't stand people who do that, and I didn't want to do it to you. So even though I (and you, most likely) hate the ending, at least it did end.

Thanks for the undeserved support.